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A span of East Main Street in the center of Patchogue Village is about to be awash in lights and color.
Construction starts today, Monday, on an enhanced crosswalk with an artistic theme between the theater and library, a concept that’s being modeled after similar projects in cities like Baltimore and San Francisco.
Crews will be installing handicap ramps today and working possibly through Wednesday, with some minor traffic delays expected.
The project will also include sensor lamps that will light up when a pedestrian steps into the walkway.
Village officials hope all the work will be completed by Oct. 1.
Local artist Dave Rogers pitched the idea for an arts-centered crosswalk, and his design was picked by the village in an open contest.
“So I was lucky enough that I had the idea and they picked my design, which was a great plus for me,” he told greaterpatchogue.com last month.
Rogers hopes other artists will eventually be hired to design crosswalks elsewhere in the village.
Lori Devlin, a village trustee, assisted Rogers in working with the engineering firm that took his design and created the thermal plastic materials that will be imbedded into the sidewalk.
The design, as Rogers had explained, represents “all the arts,” through piano keys, theater masks and paint brushes.
There are also forks and knives and handbags to reflect on the village’s dining and shopping aspects.
Devlin said there couldn’t be a more perfect location for such a piece, describing the location as Patchogue’s “cultural hub” where there’s the theater, library and the mural-covered Roe Walkway that leads to Terry Street and the ArtSpace building, the Patchogue Arts Council and the Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center.
“It’s a crosswalk that feeds to everything that goes on in Patchogue, but particularly the creative arts,” said Devlin, who’s also president of the Patchogue Arts Council. “And it’s in a prominent location, so you can’t beat that.”
Below is how the crosswalk will appear once it’s installed.
Top photo: Dave Rogers in the Roe Walkway near where the crosswalk will be installed. (file photo)
